Lyrits

This article is about the mythical creatures. "Lyrit" can also refer to a small caliber of cannon that was developed nearly two centuries earlier than the birds were created on the Land, though both types of lyrit derive their name from the same Dramastan stories.

Lyrits are mythical creatures first created on The Land in LY 545. They were, in fact, the very first species of mythical creatures to be bio-engineered by Sorreters. While the idea for creating mythical creatures was first conceived by Mor, the suggestion for the first species came from Red, who was a fan of stories from many worlds, whereas most Landians prefer stories from Earth (and in fact, the majority of the species subsequently created would be based on stories from Earth).

The mythology of lyrits originated on a planet called Dramastus. According to spirits, Dramastus was a nearly idyllic world, very peaceful and comfortable, without any creatures that might be considered dangerous. All this tended to make life pretty boring, and so the inhabitants felt a great need to constantly make up stories (such as Märchen) where there were such things as danger and discomfort. And of course, these stories included many imaginary animals with all sorts of imposing attributes. Most stories ended with the protagonists being killed, which after awhile tended to lose its appeal for listeners, and so eventually a new kind of creature was invented for the stories, called lyrits. It should be noted that in reality, the dominant species of Dramastus often kept beloved pets which were something like the dogs of Earth, which were very affectionate creatures, though also rather comical. These pets, called renchans, seemed to love their masters so much that they felt an overwhelming need to protect them against all possible threats, the comic part being that, as mentioned, there were no real threats on the planet. Well, this trait was one of the defining characteristics of lyrits, as well. In the stories, renchans often tried to protect their masters from the dangerous creatures that existed in fiction, but tended to fail more often than not, as they didn't have the kind of abilities the mythical creatures had. Lyrits, on the other hand, were fairly powerful, themselves, and much better equipped to offer protection. Though not nearly as large as renchans, let alone the typically far larger creatures of stories, lyrits were a type of bird, very fast and maneuverable in the air, and able to produce strong gusts of wind by beating their wings, even sometimes creating whirlwinds. They could also breath fire, and were capable of breathing underwater, as well as quickly boring tunnels through the earth with acid-producing claws.

When Sorreters went about creating their own lyrits, they used ravens, which happened to live in great numbers around Sorret, which of course provided the power of flight, though not the ability to create strong gusts or whirlwinds. For fire-breathing, they added DNA from salamanders, which on Earth have no such ability, though there are mythical creatures from Earth stories called salamanders which do have fire-based abilities. According to spirits, God gave the salamanders of the Land the ability to breathe fire, based on Terran legends. The lyrits created on the Land don't have the ability to breath underwater, but they were given certain traits from seals, which allow them to swim as well as hold their breath for long periods. For tunneling, lyrits were given a trait of voles, which unlike the voles of Earth, secrete acid from their claws, which helps in removing dirt and small rocks.